SERIES OF BLOWS.

Auckland Star, Volume LXXII, Issue 91, 18 April 1941, Page 7

SERIES OF BLOWS.

WIDESPREAD RAIDS.

Havoc In Greece; Telling Attacks In Libya. British Official Wlrrless. (Reed. 1.:1O p.m.) RUGBY. April 17. Puni.-hiiip: attacks by British aircraft, on the enemy forces in Libya are recorded in a R.A.F. Middle East communique, which reads: —"Bomber and fighter aircraft of the K.A.F. maintained their punishing: attacks throughout yesterday and the previous night on enemy mechanised units, troops and lauding? grounds in C'vrenaica

"Near Fort I'apuzzo a motorised column was attacked and a number of vehicles destroyed and casualties caused among troops. During the night of April !.">-] ti our bomber* attacked landing

ground* at Gazala. T'.l Adem and Derna. where one aircraft was <le~troved by direct hits. Convoys in the e-ame area were lioiulipil and subsequently machinepunned from a low altitude. Many vehicle* were damaged. Our fighters maintained continuous offensive patrols.

"In Greece H.A.F. bombers carried out L unceasing attacks on eneniv supply , columns, particularly in the Kozhani- v Mona-tir-Ptolemais area. Much damage i was paused. The railway line near ' Koritios. motor transport on iho road jJ near Kitm< and a railway station south- . ea-t of K.iterina were al<o (successfully J Uomhe<l. Fire- were started at Sere-: aerodrome and a i-nnvoy east nl" Salonika | ' was heavily raided. A large formation I of enemy aircraft which attack p<l j shipping in Khnlkis harbour ye-terday f was engaged by our liphteiv. which *hot p down a .Junkers SS. Another was |- ; destroyed by anti-aircraft lire. Enemy ! 1 aircraft raided the aerodro-.se at Hirak- ! * lion rni Tuesday. Negligible damage \* rc-nlted. One enemy aircraft was <-*hot '« down and the pilot captured. Activity in Abyssinia. "In Abyssinia yesterday our bombers I raided I)e*-ye aerodrome, and on the j previous day an aircraft of the South j -| African Air Force bombed and machine- ' punned enemy troop» and encampments af Wadara and in the Alghe area. From all of the>e operations four of our aircraft are missing." j An Air Ministry and Ministry of < Homo Security coniintiiiU[ue states: "li is now known that an enemy fijfliter j was destroyed oxer the Freiii-h coa>t I ' yesterday. Four more enemy bombers j ' were >hot down la~t nijrht ill the raid; 1 on London, makinjr -i\ in all. three I.v ! i liphteiw and three by anti-aircraft lire.' : Two enemy aircraft were -hn! down in | i 'lie of Dover tliis morning bv i lighter*. A mulilo enemy aircraft ! bombed a town in imrlh-ea-t Scotland! to-day. The damage was -mall, but ! the casualties imiuded several |iei>ons j i l-iile<!. !■".!»(•« licre nn eueiiiv .n lion is i reported." j Tripoli Hammered. A special It.A.F. Middle I'a-t cm muiiique states: -<)n Wednesday night, a heavy raid was carried out on shipping and harbour in-taliatioiis at Tripoli bv ; the R.A.F. and Fleet Air Arm. One i medium si/.ed tanker was ],it. .\ heavy | explosion followed, and the \e>se! burned \ tiercely for over an hour. There were i many near misses t., other -hippin;.'. I \e-sels anchored oiiUidc the liarboiM ' were al-o attacked. Sphthl diict hits' were regi-teied on the Spani-h mnlf. One ' laifre white Hii-h ivii- -ci-ii and .t bi;_' tinwa- -tailed at the town end. Searchlight positions were a!-o All our plane- returned -afely."